THAILAND TO ROLL OUT PLAIN CIGARETTE PACKS

Cigarette packs will no longer feature branding when tougher smoking laws come into effect this Sept.

Brand colors and logos on cigarette packs will be replaced with standardized fonts and colors when new ministerial regulations become effective on Sept. 10.

New packaging will feature familiar graphic warnings, but will be almost identical across brands. All packaging must adopt the same drab green color.

When the new packs hit the market, Thailand will become the first country in Asia and eleventh in the world to introduce plain cigarette packaging, which is a policy being advocated by the World Health Organization.

Prakit Vathesatogkit, an advisor to the Department of Disease Control, said research has proven plain packaging discourages smoking.

“A preliminary survey has found plain cigarette packaging to be 57 percent less attractive than existing packaging,” Prakit said. “We hope to make at least 111,794 smokers quit each year.”

Existing stocks of cigarettes can be sold until Dec. 8. Those found to be selling cigarettes with old packaging may then be subject to a fine of up to 40,000 baht.